Rotary steam-engine.



Lf B. GESNER. ROTARY STEAM ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT; 13, 1911.

Patented June 11, 1912.

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L. B. GESNER.

ROTARY STEAM ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED sBPTfls, 1911.

1,028,873. Patented June 11,1912.A

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Mbna/MM TINT LOUIS B. GESNER, OF DOWNERS GROVE, L'LINOIS.

ROTARY STEAM-ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 11, 1912.

Application filed September 13, 1911. Serial No. 649,125.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS B. GESNER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Downers Grove, Dupage county, Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Tmrovements in Rotary Steam-Engines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in rotary steam engines and has more particular reference to a rotary steam engine of the type which embodies an" annular piston chamber and a piston revolving therein, the object of the invention being to provide an engine of this class which shall be simple of construction and eiicient in operation. s

The invention consists in the combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and in which,

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a rotary steam engine embodying my invention,

Fig. 2 is a side elevation showing a portion of one part of the engine casing broken away, Fig. 3 is a side elevation showing the construction of mechanism employed in the engine, and Fig. 4 is a detail side elevation showing the conformation of a clutch collar employed in the engine.

rIhe preferred form of construction as illustrated in the accompanying drawings comprisesl a substantially circular casing having parts 1 and 2, there being an annular piston chamber 3 provided between these parts as will be seen by reference to Figs.-

2. An aXial shaft 4 is journaled 1n forms the power shaft of the engine. Extending from the shaft 4 to the interior surface of the chamber 3 is an inclosed space in which is adapted to rotate a piston web 5 which is secured to the shaft 4 by means of a key 6. This piston web constantly rotates with the shaft 4 and forms the means for revolving a substantially circular piston 7 which is adapted to traverse the interior walls of the chamber 3 as clearly illustrated in Fig. 2. The crosssection of the annular chamber 3 is circular and the piston 7 having a similar conformation is fitted in said chamber so as to -revolve freely therein. Leading to and from the annular chamber 3 are inlet and exhaust steam passages 8 and 9 respectively. These 1 and the engine casing and passages are arranged adjacent each other asshown in Fig. 2. Projecting from the side of the engine casing and forming a recess in the annular chamber 3 is a substantially semi-circular abutment casing 10. Journaled in this casing is an abutment shaft 11 which is arranged parallel with the shaft 4 and having ends projecting from the sides of the casing 10. The shaft 11 carries an abutment comprising four equally spaced radial arms 12, the exterior ends of which are adapted to conform to corresponding surfaces in the annular chamber 3 and the abutment chamberw 10. The arms 12 project into the path of the piston 7 and form closures for preventing the passage of steam by the abutment casing 10. The abutment j shaft 11 is adapted to be rotated intermittently and consequently the arms 12 carried thereby, the construction being such that when the piston 7 in its travel in the annular piston chamber 3 passes the abutment chamber 10 that the arms 12 will be rotated to vpermit of the free passage of said piston.

The arms 12 are so timed relative to the piston 7 that no. obstruction is presented to the latter in its passage by the chamber 10. In Fig. 2 the piston 7 as indicated by dotted lines shows the position thereof just prior to the rotation of the abutment shaft 11.

When the piston 7 assumes the full line position and traveling in the direction indicated by the arrow, the abutment shaft 11 will have moved a quarter of a revolution and stopped for assuming the position as shown in Fig. 2. M j The mechanism for intermittently rotating the abutment shaft 11 comprises a pair of cams 13 secured tothe shaft 4 and arranged adjacent each side of the engine casing as shown in Fig. 1. These cams are secured are indicated by the dotted lines, further illustration being unnecessary, as the Construction will be clear to those skilled in the art. Each cam 13 is provided with a cam to the shaft 4 by means vof keys which Y roller 14. The cam rollers 14 are rotatably lower ends of the barsvl are freel to reclprocate. The construction is such that the cams 13 push the bars 15 upwardly, which are returned partly by the effect of gravity and partly by the tension resilientsprings 19. The springs 19 areinterposed between lugs 20 and 21 which are carried by the bars 15 and standards 17 respectively. The upper ends of the bars 15 are provided with spring pressed pawls 22 which are adapted to en- `gage small ratchet wheels 23. These pawls are automatically engaged with the ratchet wheels 23 by the action of tension helical springs 24. Formed integrally with the `small ratchet wheels 23 are relatively larger ones 25 which serve in combination with stop pawls 26 in stopping the rotation of the abutment shaft 11 after the same has been rotated a quarter of a revolution by the action of the pawls 22. Only one set of cams |13, cam rollers 14, and bars 15 are necessary when the engine is to run inbut one direction, but the present engineis designed to be reversible, hence the double set of operating mechanisms is essential.

Each operating mechanism as above described is substantially a duplicate of the other but due to the fact that the same are mounted on opposite sides of the engine the direction of movement of the shaft 11 de- 301pends upon which operating mechanism is in operable connection with said shaft. The ratchet wheels 23 and 25 are normally loosely mounted on the abutment shaft 11, and in order to clutch these ratchet wheels [to said shaft for running the engine in a given direction a pair of grooved clutch collars 27 are splined to the projecting ends of the shaft 11 as clearly illustrated in Fig. \1. A tooth 28 of a clutch collar 27 which jprojects into a longitudinal groove of the shaft 11 forming a splined connection, is shown in Fig. 4. Each ratchet wheel 23 is provided with a series of internal teeth 28 for meshing with the teeth of a clutch collar 27, said internal teeth being illustrated in Fig. 3. The arrangement is such that when one of the clutch collars 27 is in mesh with one of the ratchet wheels 23 that the other clutch collar is disengaged from the other ratchet wheel which permits the latter to move freely on the shaft 11. In order to reciprocate the grooved collars 27 in unison a transversely movable shifting rod 29 is mounted in the top of the abutment casing 10 as illustrated in Fig. 2. This shifting rod is adapted to move freely in the bearing provided therefor but the fit thereof is such that the rod will remain in any position to which it is moved. The shift-ing rod 29 is provided with an operating handle 30 at one end thereof, and projecting downj wardly therefrom are arms 31 having forks 32 at the lower ends thereof for engagement with the peripheral grooves of the collars 65 27 as clearly indicated in Fig. 4.

The operation of the engine is as follows Assuming that the steam is entering the annular piston chamber 'as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2, then the piston 7 will be revolved about the shaft 4 by pressure of the steam thereagainst. In order to prevent re-action of the steam behind the piston 7 the position of the arms 12 must be as shown in Fig. 2. -During the revolution of the piston 7 exhaust steam will be escaping through the exhaust pipe 9 as indicated by the arrow. After the piston 7 passes the exhaust pipe 9 to the position shown by dotted lines of the same, the abutment shaft 11 will begin to rotate to permit of the free passage of said piston. A quarter of a revolution of the shaft 11 is necessary to prevent interference of the arms 12 with the piston 7, and after the shaft 11 has revolved to this extent it will be 'stopped in order to fulfil its function of preventing the passage of steam past the abutment casing 10. The mechanism designed to operate the abutment shaft 11 and to transmit an intermittent motion thereto is properly timed with the piston-7 and will operate in a manner as clearly shown in the above description.

A rotary steam engine of the construction set forth is simple in construction, symmetrical in design, strong and durable, and efficient in operation. Moreover, this engine is reversible, the direction of running of the same being determined by the position of a single shifting rod.

1While I have illustrated and described the preferred construction for carrying my invention into effect, this is capable of variation or modification without departing from the spirit of the invention. I therefore do not wish to be limited to the exact details of construction set forth but desire to avail myself of such variations and modifications as come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention what I 'claim as new. and desire to secure by Letters Patent is;

1. In a steam rotary engine, a two-part circular casing having an annular piston chamber formed therein, an axial shaft ournaled in said casing, there being a space around said shaft and between the parts of said casing, a circular piston web secured to said shaft and adapted to operate in said space, the peripheral surface of said web forming a portion of the interior surface of said piston chamber, a rotary piston fitting said piston chamber and carried by said piston web, steam inlet and exhaust passages arranged adjacent each other and leading to and from said piston chamber respectively; an abutment chamber arranged adjacent said passages and forming a recess in said piston chamber, a rotatable abutment mounted in said abutment chamber comprising four equally spaced radial arms the ends of which conform to corresponding surfaces in said annular and abutment chambers, the arms of said abutment being adapted to traverse portion of the path of said piston, and means for intermittently rotating said. abutment comprising a cam secured to said shaft, a cam roller adapted to traverse said cam, a reciprocatory bar carrying said cam, an abutment shaft extending through said abutment casing, and an operative connection provided between said abutment shaft and said bar, substantially as described. i

2. In a rotary steam engine, a circular casing having an annular piston chamber formed therein, an axial shaft journaled in said casing, there being an inclosed space extending fromy said shaft to said piston chamber, a circular web the periphery of Which forms a portion of the wall of said annular chamber, said piston web being secured to said shaft and adapted to rotate therewith, a revolving piston formed integral with said-circular web and adapted to operate in said annular piston chamber, there being adjacent steam inlet and exhaust passages leading to and from said annular chamber respectively, a substantially semi-circular abutment chamber forming a recess in said piston chamber and arranged adjacent said passages, a shaft disposed parallel with said first named shaft and journaled in said abutment chamber, an abutment consisting of four equally spaced radial arms carried by said abutment shaft, the exterior ends of said arms conforming to the contour of corresponding surfaces in said annular and abutment chambers, and means for intermittently rotating said abutment shaft comprising a cam secured to said first named shaft, a cam roller adapted to traverse said cam and to move toward and away from said first named shaft, a reciprocatory bar carrying said cam roller and adapted to be moved in one direction by the action of said cam, resilient means for moving said bar in the other direction,.a ratchet wheel carried by said abutment shaft, and a pavvl resiliently mounted on said bar and adapted to engage said ratchet wheel for rotating the same in one direction, substantially as described.

3. In a rotary steam engine, a casing com* prising an annular piston chamber circular in cross-section, an axial shaft journaled in said casing, there being an inclosed space between said shaft and said chamber, a circular piston web secured to said shaft and adapted to rotate in said inolo'sed space, a radial piston fitting the Walls of said piston chamber and formed integral with said piston web, there being inlet and exhaust steam passages leading to and from said chamber respectively, a substantially semi-circular abutment chamber forming a recess in said annular chamber and arranged adjacent said passages, an abutment shaft journaled in said abutment chamber and arranged parallel vvith said first named shaft, an abutment comprising four radial arms spaced at ninety degrees to each other and carried by said abutment shaft, the exterior ends of said arms conforming to corresponding surfaces in said annular and abutment chambers, the construction being such that said abutment arms project into the path traversed by said piston, and means for intermittently rotating said shaft to prevent interference ofsaid abutment arms with said piston comprising a cam carried by said first named shaft, a cam roller adapted to traverse the periphery of said cam, a reciprocatory bar adapted to be moved in one direction by the action of said cam, a helical spring connecting with said bar and adapted to move the same in the other direction, a pair of integral ratchet wheels mounted on said abutment shaft, one of said ratchet wheels being larger than the other and formed concentric therewith, a spring-pressed pawl carried by said bar and adapted to engage the smaller of said ratchet wheels, and a stop-pawl pivoted to said abutment casing and adapted to engage the teeth of the. larger of said ratchet Wheels, substantially as described.

4. In a rotary steam engine, a circular casing comprising an annular piston chamber, an axial shaft journaled in said casing, there vbeing an inolosed space extending from said shaft to said piston chamber, a circular piston web secured to said shaft and adapted to rotate in said space, a ra dial piston carried by said piston web for operation in said piston chamber, there being inlet and exhaust steam passages leading to and from said piston chamber, a substantially semi-circular abut-ment casing projecting from said first named` casing andforming a recess in said annular chamber, an abutment shaft arranged parallel with said first named shaft and concentric With said abutment casing, an abut-ment carried by said abutment shaft comprising four equally spaced radial arms the exterior ends of which conform to corresponding surfaces in said annular and abutment chambers, said abutment shafts projecting laterally from the sides of said abut-ment casing, and means for intermittently operating said abutment shaft in either direction comprising a pair of cams secured to said first named shaft, a pair of cam rollers adapted to traverse the peripheries of said cams, a pair of reciprocatory bars carrying said cam rollers and adapted to be moved in one direction by the act-ion of said cams, a pair of helical tension springs adapted to move said bars in the other direction, a pair of ratchet wheels loosely mounted upon said abutment shaft at each end thereof, a spring-pressed pawl carried by each of said bars and adapted to engage one of the ratchet wheels of each of said pairs thereof, stop pawls pivoted to said abutment casing and adapted to engage the other of said ratchet wheels, a pair of grooved collars splined to said abutment shaft and adapted to be clutched to said ratchet wheels, and operative means for moving said collars longitudinally on said abutment shaft substantially as described.

5. In a rotary engine of the clas's described, the combination of a steam-propelled rotor with a valve-operating-and-reversing mechanism comprising a pair of cams on the rotor shaft, a pair of rods intermittently operated thereby, a ratchet pawl on each said rods, a rotary valve mounted on a shaft, a pair of ratchet wheels loosely mounted on said valve shaft and adapted to be operated by said pawls, a pair of clutch collars splined to said valve shaft, a connection between said 'clutch collars whereby they may be moved in unison, project-ions on said clutch collars adapted'to interfit with recesses on said ratchet wheels, said clutch collars being so disposed as to engage said ratchet wheels one at a time, substantially as described. p

In testimony whereof" I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

` 1 LOUIS B. GESNER. VVit-nesses Y 4 ARTHUR A. OLSON, JOSHUA R. H. PorTs.

Copies of this patent may be'obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

